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President Obama outlined a serious deficit-reduction plan in his speech today. While I did not agree with everything he said, he outlined a comprehensive framework to cut spending, promote tax fairness and reduce the deficit. The goal of reducing our deficit by $4 trillion over the next 12 years is significant, but is properly phased in so it won’t jeopardize our fragile economic recovery.

And unlike the Republican plan, as embodied in the budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the president's plan is a balanced approach to bringing down our deficit, with $3 of spending cuts and interest savings for every $1 in increased tax revenue. It calls for a shared sacrifice, including from the wealthiest Americans. We can’t afford to continue to extend the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year, which will cost us more than $700 billion over the next 10 years.

The president also is taking a responsible approach to Medicare, in contrast to the Republican plan that ends Medicare as we know it, shifting costs onto seniors.

The speech today sets the stage for a high-stakes debate in Washington and across the country about our priorities, about what our government must do to protect the most vulnerable among us, and what is required of us as responsible citizens. That is a debate that Democrats should welcome.

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